Matt Damon's decision to return to the big screen as a mysterious CIA agent trying to regain his memory has paid off.

Universal's Jason Bourne topped the North American box office with a strong $60 million from 4,026 theaters, one of the best showings of summer to date and one of the few franchise titles to come in ahead of its predecessor. In 2012, The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner, debuted to a soft $38.1 million. However, Jason Bourne didn't match the $69 million launch of Damon's The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, but still ranks as the actor's second-best opening.

The action film also is impressing overseas, where it topped the foreign chart with $50 million from 56 markets, the best opening of any Bourne title and putting the movie's global bow at $110.1 million. South Korea led with a stellar $11.2 million, followed by $10.2 million in the U.K., where it came in second behind the debut of Finding Dory ($10.8 million).

Jason Bourne, which cost $120 million to produce, reunites Damon with director Paul Greengrass, who helmed The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Ultimatum. Males made up 55 percent of ticket buyers in North America, while 60 percent of the audience was over the age of 35.

"Matt Damon's return and his reteaming with Paul Greengrass spurred this film to a $60 million result, which is extraordinarily strong," said Universal's domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou. "And Matt worked tirelessly to promote this film."

The latest installment, which earned an A- CinemaScore, sees Damon's former CIA operative come out of hiding just as a new government program has been created to hunt him down while he tries to recover all of his memory. Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles and Riz Ahmed also star.

The weekend's other high-profile entry, STX Entertainment's femme-skewing Bad Moms, did solid, but not spectacular, business in its debut, earning $23.4 million from 3,215 theaters to mark one of the better recent openings for an R-rated comedy. And that was enough for a third-place finish behind Jason Bourne and Star Trek Beyond, which earned $24 million-plus in its second weekend to cross the $100 million mark.

Females made up more than 80 percent of Bad Mom's audience, and many of them were older, with 48 percent of all ticket buyers over the age of 34.

On Saturday, it looked like Bad Moms would earn $27 million-$30 million for the weekend. Last summer, Trainwreck opened to $30.1 million, while Spy debuted to $29.1 million. Still, Bad Moms is already on solid financial ground, having cost roughly $20 million to produce after rebates and tax incentives. And it's the best showing for STX to date.

Bad Moms was written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (the team behind The Hangover script), and follows a trio of overworked and under-appreciated moms — played by Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn — who rebel and embark on an adventure of freedom and self-indulgence. The movie, which nabbed a stellar A CinemaScore, co-stars Annie Mumolo, Jay Hernandez, Jada Pinkett Smith and Christina Applegate.

"The results are fantastic. And it's the first time in seven years since The Hangover that an R-rated comedy received an A CinemaScore," said Kevin Grayson, head of distribution for STX. "Our midweek numbers and holdover weekends are going to be very strong. That's why we chose the date we did. It's a big win for us, especially considering the price of the film."

And finally, Nerve, Lionsgate's thriller starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, took in an estimated $15 million over its five-day debut after hitting theaters Wednesday. Its projected weekend take is $9 million. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the film, which received an A- CinemaScore, follows Roberts and Franco as they get sucked into a dangerous modern game of Truth or Dare.

Females also flocked to Nerve (63 percent), although they were much younger, with 78 percent of the audience under the age of 25.

"We knew once we started screening the film that it was playing through the roof with its core audience," said Lionsgate's David Spitz. "It’s very relatable because of the online aspect to the story."

Nerve cost under $20 million to make.

Among holdovers, Paramount's Star Trek Beyond passed the $100 million mark in its second weekend to finish Sunday with a North American total of $105.7 million. Overseas, the sci-fi adventure took in $13 million from 40 markets for an early foreign total of $54.8 million and global cume of $160.5 million.

Universal and Illumination Entertainment's The Secret Life of Pets held at No. 4 in its fourth weekend with $18.2 million for a hearty domestic total of $296.2 million. Overseas, the animated hit took in another $29.5 million from its first 21 markets for a foreign cume of $99 million and global haul of $395.2 million. While it's still in the heart of its run, that's nothing compared to Pixar and Disney's Finding Dory, which has now grossed $831 million worldwide.

New Line and Warner Bros.' horror hit Lights Out continued to impress in its second weekend, falling a slim 42 percent to $10.8 million for a domestic total of $42.9 million (it cost only $5 million to make). Overseas, the pic has amassed an early $20.8 million for a global cume of $63.7 million.

Lights Out rounded out the top five, while Ice Age: Collision Course fell to No. 6 in its second outing as it continued to lose to Pets. From Fox, Collision Course declined 51 percent to $10.5 million for a domestic total of $42.1 million.

On the political front, conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza's documentary Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party stayed at No. 10, earning $2.4 million from 1,066 theaters for a cume of $8.7 million. Last week, the critical look at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton became the top-grossing doc of the year to date.

And at the specialty box office, James Schamus' feature directorial debut Indignation and Meera Menon's corporate thriller Equity both enjoyed solid openings. Released by Roadside Attractions and Summit, Indignation grossed $89,872 from four theaters in Los Angeles and New York for a location average of $22,268. Equity earned $80,729 from four locations for a screen average of $20,182 for Sony Pictures Classics.